David did an amazing job scratch building his and ended up with 10.5k pieces. He did not have a parts list or instructions, so I made my own version in Lego Digital Designer based from his photos. My goal was to keep the cost (i.e. part count) as low as possible by leaving the back wall unfinished and go with a static elevator. Total current part count without the Falcon or mini-figs is 7733. The price not including shipping was ~10 cents a part. I ended up buying new base plates since I did not want to wait for used ones to become available at a reasonable price.

Here are some renders from LDD for the latest version:

Layout shows the base plates that were cut to fit the table. The back wall is 124 studs and the side is 112 studs long. I ended up getting (6) 48x48 base plates and (4) 16x32 plates. I didn't go any larger then David's to keep the cost down on the future plexiglass.

I left he back wall unfinished to reduce part count and cost. My display will be up against a wall. The black bricks and plates can be any color to reduce cost since they are not visible from the other side.

I was originally going to make a table with a fancy museum style center pedestal. Since this was my first large woodworking project, I decided to keep it simple. I also could not afford to give up the storage space under it.

I used MDF for the table base. I ended up putting 1x2 wood around the bottom perimeter to support the side edging. 1x3 wood was used to secure the legs. Everything was nailed and glued into place. In hindsight, regular wood would have been a better choice. I ended up putting a 3/8" wood strip around the perimeter for the Plexiglass to sit on and hold the base plates in place. The edging around the perimeter extends up 1/4" to hold the future Plexiglass. I did have to use some wood filler for the corners.

If you plan to build this, setup and connect the base plates first to get exact dimensions. There is a gap between the plates, but it will not be visible with tile in place.

My next challenge is to address the gate lower radius arch. It was never released in white, so I need to paint it. If it doesn't work out, I will go with the slopes that David used.

I will post pictures as the build progresses here and upload the LDD file to Rebrickable when everything is complete. I had to make several changes to the LDD file already and want to make sure it is good.

Jeff

Last edited by jmfbtb on Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

You sure those table legs can hold all that LEGO? I was moving some larger boxed LEGO sets this morning (Death Stars and Imperial Shuttles), and the boxes were beginning to show signs of being crushed. I had stacked smaller LEGO sets on top of these larger boxed sets, and I guess LEGO is heavier than I thought, or the boxes aren't as sturdy as I thought.

I will be posting the LDD file and HTML instructions (unless I can find a way to convert it to PDF easily) to Rebrickable. If you can wait, I would like to get it built and make sure hinged bricks supporting the sloped walls works well in the real world. The other techniques I tried with available parts in LDD left too much of a gap between sections. The docking bay cost was ~0.10 per part or about $773 not counting shipping. Your cost will vary depending on how quickly you want to build, (i.e. avoid multiple smaller orders on Brick Link), used vs. new, etc.

I am going to do some test painting of the lower gate arch piece in white this weekend. I plan to post two LDD model versions: One with curved arches for the gate and one with slopes similar to what Dave used for the purists who do not want to paint a part.

You're an ambitious man Jeff, that's a huge undertaking especially right after building the Falcon piece by piece. Most people probably don't realize how big that docking bay really is, I have a Falcon so I can visualize the size and the work involved in a project that big. Good luck with the build and I look forward to copying yours sometime soon.

After all of my careful measurements, I ended up making a mistake on the table dimensions on the side with the gate. I had setup the base plates and added bricks to make sure the spacing was correct before measurement. What I forgot was the white lego that extends beyond the base plate.

So the dimensions on the table are wrong per the current design. Not sure if I will move the lego in or leave the overhang off. Looks like this will take a bit longer to put together....

Boomers:

Since it is an official part color in LDD, I am not bending the rules too much on painting the arch. I really like the curved geometry. I used Testers white acrylic with a white primer and it is close. I need to experiment some more.

It turns out moving the gate in one stud to accommodate the white bricks on the outside for the plexiglass cover was not that big of a deal. I was able to reuse most of the bricks and only needed to add about $6 worth of additional tile (mostly 1x6). I had to give up one simulated pipe in the back corner.

It takes between 18 and 20 hours for LDD to generate the HTML directions. For now I am working straight off the model file.

I didn't want to progress very far until determining if painting the 1 x 5 x 4 Inverted Arch was going to work. I messed up the first set of parts and had to wait two weeks for replacements from a Brick Link seller. Work and another project jumped in line, but I should make steady progress going forward. I am really happy with the results.

As mentioned in an early post, Lego Digital designer has the 1 x 5 x 4 Inverted Arch as a valid white part. Unfortunately it was never produced to my knowledge. The top arch is available in white. I really liked the curved geometry in lieu of 45 deg slopes that David used.

I picked up a Paasche VL-SET Double Action Siphon Feed Airbrush and tested quite a few parts. I plan to use the airbrush for another project, so this was a great opportunity to learn. The key is to ensure good coverage with several coats from Tamiya Fine Surface White Primer spray can. This is especially important using black parts. I then used the air brush to paint on Tamiya acrylic White X-2 mixed with Thinner X-20A and a couple of drops of Tamiya "Flat Flesh" (Tan in color) to better match the off white Lego pieces. It is not perfect, but very close. I used the air brush metal siphon cup for mixing. From a distance under normal lighting the casual observer should not notice the difference.

For the purists, I will include the Lego Digital Designer model with 45 deg slopes on Rebrickable once everything is complete as an alternative.

What is the plan once this awesome model is completed? Will you order a custom plexi-glass / acrylic outer case? If so, can you give me information where I can order? I've found dust to be "The Enemy" of every collector. The IKEA Detolf cases are nice for smaller pieces - but for larger pieces, I haven't found a good solution yet.

etcknight,Yes, the plan is to go with Plexiglass. The sources I have found so far are very expensive. A friend suggested making one. Not sure if I will go that direction or not yet. I want to finish the set before ordering the Plexi. I have been covering both the Falcon and the Docking Bay set when not working.

My falcon got fairly dirty sitting in the basement next to my saws, i'll probably take apart and rebuild one day. I was also looking for a display case and couldn't find anything large enough or it was way too expensive. The alternative is to build a glass cube, the hardware is cheap and the glass itself is very cheap compared to plexi. It won't be completely sealed because of where the glass edges meet but it should do a fairly good job and look really nice. I'm just waiting to build your docking station to know the exact measurements.

I am glad that I held off posting the LDD file. Due to availability, I ordered bars with stop rings that were slightly smaller then the ones in LDD. I thought it wouldn't make a difference, but a bar had to be lowered in the right corner. I expect more minor changes here and there...

I haven't looked into glass. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a plexi solution will be found for a reasonable price.